When asked by a Free Press reporter Tuesday whether the allegations were false and whether he'd accepted any free alcohol or food, Leland did not directly answer the question.

"These are allegations," Leland said. "I sat in the restaurant and I had a drink and I had some food. That isn’t illegal."

The lawsuit is the latest twist in a lengthy legal battle that began in November 2016 when the co-owners of the former bar at 1407 Randolph Street first filed a lawsuit against Mayor Mike Duggan and other city officials. The suit, which is still winding through the courts, claimed police harassment and also alleged that Dennis Archer Jr., former Mayor Dennis Archer's son, received favorable treatment in buying the building the bar occupied. The co-owners also had sought to buy the building.

Leland told reporters after a Tuesday council meeting that he "barely knows the guy" but admitted to going to the bar. When asked about the lawsuit, Leland said, "This is America. People get sued and we’ll see where it goes."

"... I sat down in the bar to talk about city business," Leland said. "And I probably had a drink and some food and there's nothing legally wrong with that. I think this could be some kind of witch hunt against me and I don’t know why. As I said, I work hard for the people that I represent. This individual has a problem with me. ... At the end of the day, this is sour grapes."

Leland said he was unaware of the lawsuit until Monday night.

"I just found out about this yesterday when you guys did, so I’m going through the new filing and I don’t really have an opinion on this other than these are allegations," Leland said. "Anybody in this city who thinks they can get some influence out of me for a tequila and a taco is greatly mistaken."

The suit is the second federal lawsuit filed against Leland alleging he sought money or favors in exchange for political influence. Leland is also named in a federal corruption probe.

According to the Monday filing, which, in addition to Leland, names Detroit Police Officer Robert Harris and Detroit Fire Department Captain Calvin Harris, the bar initially signed a lease in August 2013 with the Detroit Downtown Development Authority.

The terms of the lease, according to the suit, do not expire until Aug. 19 of this year and indicate the bar had the option to extend the lease. But in September 2015, the DDA requested proposals from developers to acquire properties owned by the DDA to redevelop the old Paradise Valley area.

Centre Park also prepared a development proposal for the property but Archer's investment group, Gotham Capital Partners, was eventually selected as the winning bidder.

After Centre Park ownership started to publicly question the process, Bridgewater alleges the bar was retaliated against and was visited and ticketed several times by police officers.

Bridgewater alleges that Officer Robert Harris and Captain Calvin Harris unfairly shut down his bar when it wasn't overcrowded and arrested him in retaliation when he questioned their decision. Bridgewater was arrested and ticketed in the incident, according to the lawsuit.

Bridgewater claims during his initial conversation with Leland, the councilman — "without being asked" —offered to assist him in addressing the issues Centre Park was experiencing.

But according to the suit, Leland later in the conversation demanded "free entry into parties," as well as free alcoholic drinks and food whenever he visited the bar.

Bridgewater claims he asked Leland whether his demands were ethical and lawful, and Leland said it was “normal practice” for local restaurants and bars in Detroit to "provide members of the Detroit City Council and other elected and city officials with free alcoholic drinks and free food upon request."

Leland demanded that Bridgewater also provide Leland’s close friend and confidant, Marcelus Brice, the same accommodations as well, the suit says.

"Plaintiff Bridgewater did not want to honor Defendant Leland’s demands, but felt compelled to do so," Paterson wrote. "Bridgewater feared that if he did not honor Defendant Leland’s demands that Defendant Leland would make sure that Centre Park Bar would continue to be ticketed and closed."

Bridgewater alleges in the suit he feared retaliation because Leland said if he didn't honor his demands, it would be a "sure thing" that the bar would be harassed and evicted from the property. In total, Bridgewater said, Leland and Brice received more than $5,000 worth of alcohol and food.

"Defendant Leland and Marcelus Brice abused this privilege," the lawsuit states. "Defendant Leland and Marcelus Brice often brought numerous guests with them to Centre Park Bar and often times ran up bar tabs that exceeded $200."

Brice denied the allegations Tuesday, saying they were the "furthest thing from the truth."

"Why am I not a party in the lawsuit?" Brice said. "Why didn't he make me a defendant and part of the 'shakedown scheme?' It's because it's not true. They are not supported by any evidence."

Brice said he's only been to the bar about three times and he was never a regular patron.

"I have never asked Scott Bridgewater for a dollar for any reason," Brice said. "I never talked to him about doing business with him. That guy has never given me 50 cents before, let alone $500."

The bar closed in April 2018, Bridgewater says, in part because of the alleged harassment.

"I’m going to ask that you contact my attorney for anything further on this," Leland said. "He’s (Bridgewater) going to have to ... convince a judge of some kind that that’s the case. I’ve lots of credibility in this town. ... My residents believe in me. I work hard every single day for residents of the 7th District and for this city. People want to question my integrity for some food and some drink? That isn’t what I base my decisions on — a taco and a tequila."

Leland was first elected to the city council in 2013. Prior to that, he was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2004. According to his biography, Leland left the legislature at the end of 2010 and went to work in the private sector for a financial advisory firm.

The lawsuit is the latest legal woe to hit Leland and comes less than four months after another Detroit businessman claimed in a separate federal lawsuit that Leland demanded $15,000 for his re-election campaign weeks before the August primary in exchange for a political favor.

In January, Leland was named a potential target in a wide-ranging FBI corruption probe involving local towing magnate Gasper Fiore. Leland, who was re-elected to a second term on council in November, has not been charged with any crime.

Leland dated Fiore’s daughter, Jennifer, for at least two years, according to FBI wiretap records in which authorities said Leland appeared willing to give the Fiore family information that might help their towing businesses.

Fiore, who pleaded guilty last December to bribing a Macomb County official, faces up to five years in prison. His case is part of a broader corruption scandal that has ensnared at least 20 individuals, many of whom have pleaded guilty.

Leland declined comment on the other legal matters.

Katrease Stafford is the Detroit government watchdog reporter for the Free Press, covering city issues and the community. Contact Katrease Stafford: kstafford@freepress.com or 313-223-4759.